Description | Harrisons responds to the correspondent's letter of Saturday by explaining that the Royal Society and Society of Antiquaries have shared their Burlington House apartments by a special Grant from the Crown made in 1780, while the other Societies in the building are likely to be considered merely tenants from a legal standpoint.
He explains that there was a scheme proposed in 1856 which came to nothing, but which generated considerable correspondence with the Government, for an assembly of all the learned Societies in Burlington House, with a shared library ands shared meeting room, with the public being allowed access to the Societies' books and collections. The failure of the scheme was due to the fact that, despite the Royal Society having been in residence in Old Burlington House for a number of years with provision made for the assignment of apartments to other societies, without prior warning the main part of Burlington House was given to the Academy of Arts. Following the ensuing protests, the Government arranged the building of two wings and front of the new building for the promised accomodation of the Royal Society and others. |